"The Social Life of Information"

Paper Summary:

The writer of this paper reviews "The Social Life of Information" written by John Seely Brown and Paul Duguid which focuses on the effects of technology on society. This book was hailed by multiple business and technology magazines as being one of the most important books to be released on the topic of technology and business. "The Social Life of Information" looks at various aspects of the information age, explores how technology is failing society and offers various improvement strategies. The writer contends that this book is not a scientific study, but more of a synthesis of information. This paper ponders the authors' argument that technology will not fundamentally change human society as some have postulated. This paper discusses how unreliable the new advanced information age actually is, while explaining how promises of an easier future have in fact resulted in the exact opposite. This paper also discusses how society responds to technological growth and the fact that, despite all of our hi-tech advancements the situation is still strikingly similar to the way it was 10,000 years ago.

From the Paper:

"As the popularity of psychics and astrologers can attest, people are very curious about what the future will bring. Instead of being content to take one day at a time, people have a desire to have as much information about the future as possible. This is not a phenomena that is limited to Americans or Westerners, but a global phenomena. People want to know in advance, whether it be to prepare for bad times, look forward to good times, or try to avert bad situations. That some would look at the onslaught of technology over the past few years and pronounce that it will change the world, remake society, alter everything, good and bad about the world that we live in. There is no doubt that technology changes some things about the world. Learning simple math and language changed the world 10,000 years ago. All advances in technology, from the abacus to the silicon chip, have altered the way in which people live. However, this change might not be as extensive as some would claim."

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